The Week Ireland Began To Melt

So this week in Ireland we have had the hottest summer in 8 years with some places reaching 30+ degrees which is rather insane for Ireland. I personally do not deal well with the heat because I am a naturally warm person and I begin to melt when it gets too hot. But I do like to see the sun once and awhile so I am enjoying it. Unfortunately I had to work for most of it which meant being stuck in a car for hours in the hot sun and then working inside a warm shop for hours. The only relief was getting to count the walk in fridges and freezers that stores have. Staff were actually requesting to count the freezers and fridges which is very unusual because no one likes the cold usually. Well except me :)

We went to Donegal on Tuesday. We left Galway at 4:30 am and it was already 18 degrees which for Ireland is bloody insane. We got to Dungloe County Donegal at 7:30 and the heat was already getting to me. Luckily when we started at 8am the shop was rather cool. But throughout the day it got incredibly warm and unbearable in our work body warmers which we have to wear while we are in the shops :/ We finished the shop early enough which was good. 5 of us were staying in Dungloe that night because we were working in Annagry which was only 20 minutes away the following day. We got to the hotel at about 1:30 but couldn't check in until 4 so we went to the local supervalu and bought some cans and sat on the pier for a few hours cause it was so warm. And you must drink cans on a pier during the warm weather when there is nothing else to do. 

The tide was out while we were drinking so we couldn't go swimming like we had planned but we did get the bright idea to try and walk across the bay. Well when I say we I mean we all thought it would be a good idea but needed a guinea pig and I ended up being that guinea pig. None of us wanted to do it, but the longer I sat there looking out the better and idea it became. As you can see from the picture of my feet it wasn't exactly the best idea. I got about 10 feet across when it became to squidgy to walk in. I would have kept going as I didn't think I would sink any further than my calves but I was begging to lose balance and the lads were throwing stones at me to make me fall so I turned around. And because the tide was out I had nowhere to wash my feet :/ So I had to let it dry in and then brush it off. Was rather disgusting. But thankfully we got checked in at 4 and I went straight to the shower to wash the remaining dirt off my feet. Spent the rest of the day relaxing and headed to bed early to get up for work at 6. 

Woke up the next day and I was absolutely scorched with sunburn cause us being typical Irish people we didn't put on suncream because there was no need sure. There is no picture of the sunburn because it can be found on any of those embarrassing sunburn picture pages. Like this one for example.The first picture is pretty much me except I don't have curly hair. We finished work in Annagry at 11 am and headed for home in what I can only describe as a moving sauna. The car had leather seats and had been sitting 28 degree heat for 3 hours by the time we got in. It was insane. So we had to endure 28-30 degree heat for a 4 hour drive. Even with all the windows open it was still insanely warm and unbearable. We decided it was better not to stop because the car would only warm up again and the sooner we got home the better. As soon as I got home I dumped my bag, climbed into the shower and sat there for probably a half hour in what I can only describe as sheer bliss. It was the coldest and greatest shower I have ever had. 

I spent the next two days doing what every Irish person does after the get burned, bathing in aftersun and putting on factor 50 suncream on every time I stepped into the sunlight :) Thankfully the stinging from the sunburn has gone down and I can put a t-shirt on without wincing :P I keep saying that I am never going to go out in the heat without suncream on but I have been saying that for years and still haven't learned my lesson so I don't think I am ever going to learn. I think I am too stubborn to pay for something that is at the time unnecessary because I am only going to be in the sun for a little while. 

At the moment I am sitting on a train on my way to Dublin to go see the killers in Phoenix Park in Dublin and thankfully it is beginning to cool down but I have brought the factor 50 anyway :) As I am travelling through Ireland the view outside my window is basically what you see below except for when we stop in towns. I haven't been on the train since I was a child going to Dublin with my parents to go to the zoo. It hasn't changed much except for the standard of train and the cost which is insane but it is better to travel on the train at the moment rather than sit on a bus which must be just a moving hot box at this stage. A lovely sea mist has also set in over Ireland in the mornings due to the heat and it looks awesome. Hasn't really come a cross very well in the picture it still looks cool.  

Anyway this has been my rant about the week Ireland began to melt. I am sure I will have another one on Sunday as the Country is still melting and I will have pictures from the concert as well. Hope you enjoyed this and thanks for reading. You're awesome :)

Stardansheill o7